“He should be mad at himself”: Sheldon Creed reflects on incident with Tony Stewart’s Xfinity driver after Chicago battle

Sheldon Creed started 38th on Saturday's Loop 110 and finished 26th, one place above Stewart-Haas Racing driver Riley Herbst, who suffered his fourth DNF of the season. Creed tangled with Tony Stewart's driver moments before the first caution of the race. In a post-race interview, Creed told Dustin Long of NBC Sports that Herbst's antics had backfired and hence ruined his day.

As the Loop 110 restarted on lap 11, race-winner Shane Van Gisbergen and Kyle Larson were fighting for the lead. Meanwhile, Herbst, battling for 11th, pressed Creed into the wall. Creed retaliated by spinning Herbst out on the following turn. However, NASCAR did not throw a caution following the episode.

At the end of the race, Creed was also involved in an incident with Parker Kligerman, who finished fourth in the 50-lap event. Recalling the incidents with Kligerman and Herbst, Creed said:

"He's (Parker Kligerman) gotten me a couple times the past couple of years. So, we'll see but for the 98, I feel like he should be mad at himself because he wanted to start problems and just made his day worse." [3:02]

Considering Creed's engine issues during practice and the slipping away of opportunities to record a top 5 finish, the Californian's day ended on a sour note.

Creed joined Joe Gibbs Racing's Xfinity Series program this season. Before moving to the Xfinity Series, Creed had amassed 8 wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with his most recent victory coming at Darlington Raceway in 2021. Creed won the ARCA Series championship in 2018 and the Truck Series championship in 2020.

Sheldon Creed responds to Parker Kligerman's comments

Parker Kligerman agreed that Sheldon Creed had the right to be upset about how the race ended for the latter. However, he hoped Creed would realize that the Big Machine Racing driver had nowhere to go when Creed veered to the inside of the #2 machine driven by Jesse Love.

Reflecting on the same, Kligerman said in an interview with veteran journalist Bob Pockrass,

He tried to go below the #2...but I was there. And he just came across my nose. I know Sheldon’s really angry and rightfully so. He and I raced with each other all day. He and I drove from the back. You know he has run into a lot of stuff, I think he was on tilt a lot of the race but there I think it’s just like, when he watches it back I think he’ll see like, 'Hey, you came over but no one told you I was there'."

However, Creed was not sure where Kligerman was running where the contact happened. He thought the #48 driver could have avoided the hit only if he had turned right.

"The 48 says he was there in his interview, which I think he was close, don’t get me wrong," Sheldon Creed said in the interview with Long. "But then he got me loose. He could have turned right or set me back down but he decided to drive through me."

Sheldon Creed currently stands 8th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings with 505 points to his name. On the other hand, Parker Kligerman is 9th, and just 10 points behind Creed. The duo will be seen racing next week (July 13) in the 'Explore The Pocono Mountains 225' at Pocono Raceway. The 90-lap race can be watched on the USA channel and heard on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.